Conventional land preparation practice for planting is often very harsh because conventional practices tend to extensively till and disrupt the soil. This situation is made worse by the fact that this same practice is repeated over and over again between planting seasons. Typically, after a certain crop has been harvested, the farmer extensively tills and conditions the land for a new planting. Many conventional practices call for the land to be first subjected to a very intense and extensive disking operation. The land is usually traversed by a large and heavy gain disk implement which results in any ground cover being cut and tilled into the earth. After disking, many conventional land preparation practices include extensively plowing the entire land which essentially results in the top soil or top layers of the soil being turned and rotated. Again, once the land has been subjected to both disking and plowing the entire top layer of the land has been totally disturbed and the previous ground cover essentially removed.
Obviously, the extensive cultivation process discussed above destroys much of the land's natural value and makes it more difficult for the land itself to be protected from heavy rains and other inclement weather conditions. This extensive cultivation also disrupts the life and reproduction cycles of microorganisms and worms found in the top layer of the cultivated soil. The destruction of these microorganisms and worms are very harmful inasmuch as these microorganisms and worms tend to aerate the soil and provide a better growing environment for crops. Moreover, these microorganisms and worms reproduce and proliferate and add organic matter to the soil. Intense cultivation of the land destroys these microorganisms and consequently deprives the soil of a continued source of organic matter.
Therefore, there continues to be a need for a tillage practice for preparing land for planting that emphasizes conserving the soil and preventing the destruction of microorganisms and worms found in the top layer of the soil.